Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

 PC
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
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  1. PGNx Media
    77
    The PC version of the game was changed for the worse; the console versions are recommended due to their more accurate control scheme and level variety.
  2. eToychest
    77
    Parents of these children will also enjoy this game--I laughed out loud more than once--but any experienced gamer will find it a transient challenge that is over much too quickly.
  3. AceGamez
    70
    The game as a whole is very forgiving - too forgiving in fact. If you're an experienced gamer, or even an adult who plays occasionally, you shouldn't find the puzzles, bad guys, bosses or exploration too much of a hindrance and will probably complete the game in about 10 hours.
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  5. PC Format
    70
    Simple, entertaining platform/puzzle fun for the little people. [Feb 2005, p.89]
  6. IGN
    65
    It's not that I think the console version of Lemony Snicket is all that great, mind you, but it is definitely better than the PC version.
  7. ActionTrip
    65
    This game just isn't very interesting. Collecting endless items for a list becomes old after awhile, and there isn't enough other things to do to keep it interesting. The control system also makes playing more difficult and frustrating than it should be.
  8. Pelit (Finland)
    65
    A standard movie game for kids. What a pity, the movie promised more. [Mar. 05]
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  9. Game Chronicles
    63
    Combined with the already short length, Snicket on the PC is an "unfortunate event" that you can probably pass on in favor of one of the console versions. Even the GBA game is better than this.
  10. Cheat Code Central
    60
    Overall the gameplay is far too simple for any casual gamer but it's sure to keep kids entertained even if they haven't seen the movie or read any of the novels.
    All this publication's reviews
  11. Warcry
    60
    The console versions have more variety in level design, more distinct roles for each of the children and a longer play time. Heck, I could finish the PC version in less time than it would take to watch the movie.
  12. Worth Playing
    60
    It has everything that should make it a quality game and a good seller, then drops all the marbles by failing to put in enough game to hold up the bargain.
  13. Computer and Video Games
    60
    In truth, the puzzles are rather refreshing, not least because you have a gurgling baby to help you who eats literally anything.
  14. Detroit Free Press
    50
    Potential players need to know that we cruised through the entire game -- without any cheats -- in about four hours.
  15. Computer Games Magazine
    50
    The sort of game that screams, "average!" at every turn. [March 2005, p.83]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Most Discussed PC Game of 2004
72
#72 Most Shared PC Game of 2004

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. Steeldude
    Aug 25, 2015
    6
    A decent game. You can play as all three characters, it is a standard 3D action adventure where you gather items to create new inventions toA decent game. You can play as all three characters, it is a standard 3D action adventure where you gather items to create new inventions to overcome obstacles. It is basically really similar to the Harry Potter games, at least the first three ones. You run around, collect items, get new skills, explore surroundings to find secrets, fight bad guys ...
    The game is quite short, it is quite enjoyable, but not memorable in any way. The only slightly unique thing is the item-collecting as you actually always have a list of items that you have to gather which resembles some traditional point-and-click adventure games, making this game a real 3D action ADVENTURE game. :D

    If it actually followed the books and told the whole story, that would have been a completely different case. Unfortunately, it is just a game version of the movie. The movie was good, I liked it, even though I was not the fan of the mixing of the first three books into one story. The same goes for the game. It's a mix of everything that's quite good ... but because we've seen it many times already, it is not spectacular.    … Full Review »
  2. NeoconTom
    Apr 10, 2019
    9
    This was a fun game on PC back in the day, sad the console version is nothing like it.
  3. mr-NachoMen
    Jan 9, 2019
    6
    Video games based on films suffers from the same curse that movies based on video games had. a small window of opportunity to pleased gamersVideo games based on films suffers from the same curse that movies based on video games had. a small window of opportunity to pleased gamers and to make it an actual game. Unfortunately this game does not manage to make anything impressive at all.
    Based on the film released in 2004, In this game the player has the chance to control the 3 Baudelaire children; Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Most of the game has the objective per level to gather objets so Violet can create and important gadget to progress to the game or a weapon to defeat enemies.
    The game is a third person perspective with platformer elements and puzzle solving which is extremely easy. common enemies are rats, crabs and bats and Olaf's minions that serve as boss fights, each boss fight has 4-5 rounds in which the player must shot the "boss" with an specific kind of ammunition until is totally defeated.
    The platformer sections, puzzle solving and combat like i mention are easy, this is because the game such as the movie were targeted to an infant audience so make sense to the game to be easy and short with an average of 4 hours long.
    Visually the game looks bad even for a 2004 game, with average texture work and resolution, low character modeling and bland level design with little exploration to offer. The game was built using the Unreal 2 Engine and it seems that the developers didn't properly know how to use it, the PC version (which is the one i'm reviewing) is the worst looking of all, even the GameBoy Advance version looks way better (and it is a 2D game!)
    The voice acting... terrible. The actors: Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken and Emily Browning reprise their roles from the film but... their acting is bland like, if they don't know how voice acting works or like if they were not interested at all in the project (and i don't blame them). The writing is terrible as well with silly dialog.
    For a kid in that time... this game works great and was interesting. But for an adult well... this is a mess of a game.    … Full Review »
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